Line of succession to the French throne (Orléanist)

The Orléanist claimant to the throne of France is Prince Henri, Count of Paris, Duke of France. He is the uncontested heir to the Orléanist position of "King of the French" held by Louis-Philippe, and is also King Charles X's heir as "King of France" if the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht (by which Philip V of Spain renounced for himself and his agnatic descendants any claim to the French throne) is considered valid. According to the Family Compact of 1909, only the descendants of the current pretender's father are considered to be dynasts of the House of France. The founders of the cadet branches of Orleans-Braganza and Orléans-Galliera, by becoming foreigners, are considered under house law to have renounced their rights to the throne. If the current line were to become extinct, the Orleans-Braganza have, however, reserved their right to renew their claims.

Prior to the Treaty of Utrecht, rules of succession to the crown of France were deemed to have evolved historically and additively, rather than to have been legislated or amended, constituting part of the fundamental laws of the nation.

The succession devolves only upon legally legitimate descendants, born in Catholic marriages. Further, children issuing from marriages expressly forbidden by the king are considered illegitimate.

The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 caused a breach in the traditional rules of succession to the throne of France. It had been opposed by some members of the Parlement of Paris because, aside from requiring the exclusion of the future Spanish Bourbons from the French throne (which potentially conflicted with the principles of indisposability of the crown and primogeniture), it also prohibited, on threat of continental war, any possibility of union of the kingdoms of France and Spain. Nonetheless, termination of the eligibility of Philippe de France, duc d'Anjou and his heirs male to inherit the French crown, on the one hand, and international recognition of Anjou's retention of the crown of Spain (as King Felipe V) on the other, were agreed to by negotiators for France, Spain and the other European powers who crafted and then obtained ratification of the treaty.

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